There's a Place for Me
by BlackTearsOfDarkness
Summary: When a Slytherin meets a Hufflepuff, things aren't going to come out exactly as planned. Cunning and sinister, Draco Malfoy would do anything for power, which includes serving under the Dark Lord. Jovial and shy, Russell Sonier never asked for this...
1. L is for Lame and that's a Hufflepuff

**_Title: There's A Place For Me_**

**_Rating: M for Marvelous!_**

**_Summary:_** _When a Slytherin meets a Hufflepuff, things aren't going to come out exactly as planned. Cunning and sinister, Draco Malfoy would do anything for power, which includes serving under the Dark Lord. Jovial and shy, Russell Sonier never asked for this…_

**_Warnings:_** _This is Slash in all its glory! (Slash being boy on boy romance, also referred to as Yaoi if you're feeling Japanese.)_

_**Genre:** Romance, Action/Adventure, and Humor_

**_Author's Notes:_** _You asked for it, so here's another fic from someone who's probably not your one and only! I hope you like it, it's been an idea I've been playing with for a couple weeks now. The main characters are Draco Malfoy and Russell Sonier (an OC character. It's pronounced "Sawn-yay). I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!_

**_"And we all bleed the same way as you do  
And we all have the same things to go through  
Hold on if you feel like letting go  
Hold on, it gets better than you know  
Don't stop looking, you're one step closer  
Don't stop searching, it's not over  
Hold on." --Hold On by Good Charlotte_**

* * *

****

**_Chapter One: "L is for Lame, and that's a Hufflepuff."_**

"You can't run from me!" the old, decrepit caretaker shouted as Draco rounded the corner of yet another empty corridor. The wind from his running swept his blonde hair out of his eyes, giving Draco an enhanced view of his escape.

Just a few minutes before, he had been attempting to sneak into the Potions dungeons with Adrian Pucey(1), a fellow Slytherin. Draco needed an extremely important ingredient to add to the Veritaserum he was brewing in a deserted bathroom and he knew very well that Snape had some stored away in his cabinets somewhere. If Mrs. Norris hadn't come and ruin everything, Draco and Adrian would've gotten away Scott-free.

He couldn't make out Filch's insane rambles anymore, so he stopped and leaned his shoulder against a wall, panting. Running all the way from the dungeons to the fourth floor was one great plight, no doubt about it.

"I'm going to hang you from the dungeon ceiling and put rats all over the floors to nibble that precious hair of yours!" Filch's cackle drew Draco off the wall and he slipped around another corridor. He needed a place to hide. His head whipped about in each direction until he spotted what would have to be his temporary sanctuary.

A broom closet. It wasn't too small, he could fit inside. As soon as Filch was gone, he would be able to get out of it anyway, so all in all, it was the perfect choice. He slipped inside and clicked the door shut, just as a whiskery, pudgy gray face rounded the corner behindtwopaws. Careful not to make any sound, he sat down against the far wall and waited. The light of the closet was dim, giving everything an almost orange glow. And it was stuffy, filled with the aroma of floor cleaner.

Draco didn't know that House Elves used floor cleaner. Then again, House Elves didn't deserve to do it the easy way with magic, so who really cared?

"Where'd you go, boy?" came Filch's voice from outside the closet. It was all Draco could do not to snicker. The shadows of the old man's feet appeared in the crack between the bottom of the closet door and the floor. "Hmm…"

Draco heard Filch lay his grimy, germ-infested hand on the doorknob. It slowly turned….

_BANG!_ The sound of an exploding dung bomb came from a few hallways down. Suddenly losing interest in his search for Draco, the shadows of Filch's feet disappeared. It didn't take long before the shadow of a cat was gone, too.

He let out a sigh of relief. It was about time. Standing up (as much as he could anyway, he had to crouch over slightly due to the size of the closet), he shuffled to the door and opened it.

Or tried to. It wouldn't budge. He tried Alohamora. He even shoved his shoulder against it. None of his attempts seemed to be working. The door was locked from the outside.

"Bloody hell!" he shouted, kicking the door and not caring who or what heard him. Groaning in frustration, he leaned back on the wall again, sliding to a sitting position.

That's when he saw the shoe. Two shoes. A pair of white trainers. Connected to khaki pants. They led to a form-fitting emerald sweater (whoever it was, they were scrawny). On top of the shoulders was, what else, someone's head. It was a boy. Obviously, Draco had figured that out due to the lack of any bulges on their chest. The boy looked about sixteen or seventeen, Draco's age. He had thick, messy, golden brown hair that flipped out on the ends, almost hiding his dull brown eyes.

The boy was staring at him in horror, eyes wide like an ostrich.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Draco sneered. At this, the boy averted his eyes and looked nervously at a cardboard box, placed directly across from the yellow mop bucket he was sitting on. He gently touched his eye (which was purple and puffy)for a second before quickly putting his hands in his lap and lacing them together, sweat lurking on the tan, callused hands. "Who are you and what are you doing in a broom closet?"

This made the boy turn and look at him again with those large, ostrich eyes of his. The long eyelashes blinked one, twice, three times before he answered. "My names Russell Sonier."

Draco waited for a minute before rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "And the broom closet?" This case seemed hopeless, Draco knew he was going to lose patience in a few milliseconds. In fact, it was beginning already. This chap was a complete dunderheaded bugger.

"Well…" Russell began slowly, looking down to his linked hands. "You're in here, too."

"Yes," Draco sighed. "I am. But I was running away from a nasty, balding man named Argus Filch. You, however, were not." Russell stayed silent. "What, do you hang out in broom closets? Make friends with the dust pans? Do you even fucking _have_ friends? I've never heard of you before and truth be told, I really wouldn't be surprised."

It was true. Just looking at this kid, he could practically tell his whole life story. He was poor, maybe even more so than those infernal Weasleys were. Told by the shabbiness of his clothing. He definitely wasn't a Slytherin or a Gryffindor and it seemed highly unlikely that he was a Ravenclaw. He sat with his back slouched, hiding his face even more than his hair did. The black eye and bruised lip suggested that people really didn't like this kid.

No wonder Draco had never seen him before. He was a "shadow-dweller". One of those kids that just hangs in the background because no one really wants to pay attention to them anyway. Draco hated that type of person. If you really want something, use any means to get it. Don't just hide like a pansy.

"I was shoved in here," Russell's quiet yet smoothly deep voice interrupted Draco's silent reverie. It was just as Draco had predicted. Man, he was good.

"By who?"

"One of your friends," this seemed to make Russell even more nervous as his feet started to shift uncomfortably. Draco smirked. It figured. Bloody golden-hearted Gryffindors would never, ever hurt a poor, pathetic bloke like Russell Sonier.

"Which one?" Draco asked. He mused through the ideas. He didn't think Adrian would give the time of day to any Hufflepuff (or Ravenclaw if this kid was smarter than he seemed). Crabbe and Goyle were too stupid to think of shoving him in a broom closet. Possibly Dimitri Dolohov(2).

"Blaise Zabini," Russell muttered. Oh, Draco hadn't thought of that one. He wasn't surprised though. Blaise had been talking about a boy that was getting on his nerves in his Potions class (Draco took Advanced Potions, Blaise took the Remedial class). Apparently, Russell had been Blaise's partner once and botched their potion by clumsily knocking it over with his elbow.

"Well, I'm sure you deserved it," Draco said casually, folding his arms across his chest and staring at the door lazily. He would just have to wait for someone to come around so he could get them to open the door. Draco could feel Russell's ostrich eyes on him again. He glanced to his left to look at the brunette. There was a tint of confusion and angst in those plain eyes of his. It made Draco want to laugh. Sometimes, people could be so naïve. Obviously, this boy had many weaknesses. Just another lowlife at Hogwarts.

They sat in silence for almost half an hour before Draco finally caught sound of footsteps coming down the outside corridor. He jumped up, bumping his head on the ceiling. Ignoring the slight throb, he banged on the door.

The footsteps stopped. "Who's in there?" a voice asked. He didn't recognize it, but did he really care who saved him from this retched closet? No, he didn't. So he banged harder.

Whoever it was walked slowly towards the closet, opening it with even more sloth-like movements. When the door was finally open, Draco rushed out, taking a deep breath of cool, Hogwarts air.

"Finally!" he said, stretching his arms up. Russell came out a few seconds later, rubbing the back of his neck. Anthony Goldstein(3) had been the one to let them out. He was a Ravenclaw prefect.

"Thank you..." murmured Russell in that meek voice of his.

"You're welcome," Anthony said, a curious look on his face. "And why were you two in a closet together…?"

"I was fucking running from Filch and so I hid in a closet, it wasn't my fault this lump of idiocy was also in there. Merlin, I'm a bloody Malfoy, would I ever settle for something like…" Draco scrunched his nose in distaste, sizing Russell up. "_That_." He spat out the word as if it were a bitter taste on his tongue, making Russell flinch and rub his arm. Eyes rolling, Draco walked away from the two, towards the Slytherin common room.

Now that Filch was gone, he got safely back down to the dungeons and the commons without getting "hung from the ceiling". He collapsed onto a black, leather coach, loosening his tie and kicking his feet up.

"Where have you been?" Theodore Nott(4) asked, looking up from something that he was writing.

"Stuck in a bloody closet because of that scum bag Squib, Filch," Draco shook his head at the recent memory. Theodore let out a small snicker, turning back to his messy scrawl. Draco closed his eyes, leaning his back into a relaxing position. A weight fell down next to him, pushing his legs off the couch. He opened one eye to be met by the sight of Blaise.

"Malfoy," Blaise said, leaning against the arm rest on the couch.

"Zabini," Draco nodded. Then, he remembered what Russell had said about Blaise being the one to shove him in the closet. "Do you know Russell Sonier?"

"Who?" Blaise said as he lamely gazed at his fingernails.

"That one Hufflepuff."

"Oh…wait, who?"

Crabbe entered, closely followed by Goyle.

"L if for Lame and that's a Hufflepuff," Crabbe said. The two oafs guffawed, walking towards the exit of the common rooms, Goyle holding his fingers in the shape of an "L" against his forehead. When they were gone, Draco and Blaise glanced at each other, both shaking their heads.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_** _So this is my new story. Hope you like it.I've got to get some sleep! Ciao!_

**_Just in case you missed it…._**

_(1) **Adrian Pucey** was noted in the books to be a Slytherin chaser and student._

_(2) The last name "**Dolohov**" is from Order of the Phoenix. Antonin Dolohov was a Death Eater that tortured countless Muggles and non-Death Eaters._

_(3) **Anthony Goldstein** was mentioned in Order of the Phoenix as being a Ravenclaw prefect in Harry's year and a member of Dumbledore's Army (the DA)._

_(4) **Theodore Nott** is actually Theodore Nott Jr., who is mentioned in the books as the son of a Death Eater (obviously Theodore Nott) who is equal in place to that of Lucius Malfoy._


	2. Oh reality, how I loathe you so

_**Title:**_ _There's a Place For Me_

**_Rating: M for Magnificent!_**

**_Summary:_** _When a Slytherin meets a Hufflepuff, things aren't going to come out exactly as planned. Cunning and sinister, Draco Malfoy would do anything for power, which includes serving under the Dark Lord. Jovial and shy, Russell Sonier never asked for this…_

_**Warnings:** Good, old, reliable slash! ("Now children, when a boy fancies a boy…")_

**_Genre:_** _Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor_

_**Disclaimer:** Oops, forgot this the last time! J. K. Rowling sits up there with the high and mighty, including Robert Frost and Garth Nix, among others. I, however, am merely a lowly peasant._

_**Author's Notes:** Alas, a second chapter. That is all._

_**"I tear my heart open  
I sew myself shut  
And my weakness is  
That I care too much  
And our scars remind us  
That the past is real  
I tear my heart open  
Just to feel" --Scars by Papa Roach

* * *

**_

_**Chapter Two: "Oh reality, how I loathe you so."**_

There was an incessant buzzing noise and Russell couldn't make out where it was coming from. His head was stuffed into the soft, feathery pillow and he was tangled in the comfortable, cotton blankets. Early morning sunlight was softly resting on him. He didn't want to get up. But that nerve-wrecking noise!

"What the hell is that sound, Sonier!" shouted Ernie Macmillan, a fellow Hufflepuff dorm-mate.

Russell shrugged into his bed and instantly got a whack with a pillow.

"Turn it off!"

Groaning, he pushed himself up with his hands and got into a groggy sitting position. He shuffled around for his wand before flicking it, the sound immediately stopping.

"Thank Donaghan Tremlett(1)!" Ernie raised his arms above his head in relief, dropping the pillow previously used as a weapon. He trotted back to his bed and fell upon it.

"Well, we have to wake up anyway," Justin Flinch-Fletchey(2) reasoned. Justin had, apparently, also been awakened by the magical alarm(3), because his thick black hair wasn't parted as usual, it was tangled all over the top of his head, giving him the appearance of a rabid kneazle.

"Next time, Sonier, keep it down," Ernie said, deciding Justin was right as he slipped out of his pajama shirt to put on school clothes. Ernie glanced to his right and once again brought up the pillow, tossing it with Quidditch skills at Benjamin Fenwick(4). "Wake up!"

Ben rolled over and mumbled something incoherent, while swatting away the offending pillow. Ernie went on a ramble about something while the other two Hufflepuff boys continued getting dressed.

Russell clutched onto the strap of his bag as he shuffled into the Great Hall, walking at his normal slow pace. A fair amount of students were already there, eating, chattering, and looking over their schedules for that day. Sighing in his usual crestfallen manner, he sat down on the far, and empty, end of the Hufflepuff's designated table.

He paid no attention to when the owls flew by. He never got any mail anyway. As soon as he finished eating a bowl of cereal, he slipped his schedule from a pocket of his bag.

He had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, with the Slytherins. Being in a class with the Slytherins was the worst. They hated him. Not that anyone from even his own house was particularly fond of him, but they didn't hex him whenever a professor wasn't looking either.

He stuffed the sheet back into his bag, not bothering to fold it up properly. Tossing his bag over his slouching shoulder, he made his way to the classroom that would bring just another day in the horrible life of Russell Sonier(5). Joy, oh beautiful joy.

* * *

"Okay class! Today we'll be pairing off to start a project on…" the professor paused for effect. "Veritaserum!" 

Draco could laugh at the irony.

The professor was some woman that was a Hogwarts alumni, apparently. Professor Harris(6) was her name. She had messy brown hair and she was always giggling and smiling. It annoyed Draco to no end. Where did Dumbledore _find_ these people?

"Today we won't really be doing that much except studying up on the potion, but next week we're going to be learning a bit about our partners that maybe we didn't know before. It also gives me a chance to push along that inter-house unity!" Professor Harris's face beamed and Draco thought the room might burst into flames from the heat of her shiny, white teeth. Egh, he might've _puked_.

And inter-house unity? Did that mean he would have to be paired with a dumb, ugly, and utterly _worthless_ Hufflepuff? The only house to have absolutely _no_ good characteristics? The house that was put there for the rejects that couldn't go_ anywhere_ else? Oh, if only his father knew about this…his father would stop it. He'd complain to Dumbledore and then the old idiot would have to let Draco work with a Slytherin. He wasn't letting any Hufflepuff know anything about him.

"Flinch-Fletchey, Bulstrode; Dobbs, Parkinson; Malfoy, Fenwick; Sonier, Nott…"(7)

So, he was partnered with Ben Fenwick. He supposed it wasn't as bad as being with that damn Macmillan or the retarded case that was Russell Sonier. Ben Fenwick he could live with. After all, the kid couldn't even talk. Supposedly he had been on the receiving end of a botched potion and it had ruptured his vocal chords. He could make noises, but no audible words.

Sucks to be him.

* * *

He was partnered with Theodore Nott? Oh, crikey… why didn't he just get….well, come to think of it, he wouldn't want to be paired with any of the Slytherins. 

As everyone shuffled around to get seated next to their respected partners, Russell lay his head on his book and closed his eyes, trying to fight back the growing weight in his stomach. He could feel Theodore sit down, but neither of them acknowledged each other.

"Now, on pages 357 to 362, you'll find information on Veritaserum, from its history to its effects. Please get started reading with your partners. And discuss!" Professor Harris sat down at her desk, smiling, not even knowing the dreadful fate she had laid down on Russell.

He lifted his head and glanced at Theodore as he opened up his DADA book. The Slytherin didn't even speak to him, he was staring down at his own book. A slight, very slight, relief washed through Russell. Theodore was obviously uninterested and maybe he could get past this project without any physical harm.

* * *

"Discuss, boys!" Professor Harris tapped Draco's desk with her wand as she quickly made a walk-through of the room. 

"How am I supposed to discuss with someone who can't even talk?" Draco said, not caring if Ben had heard him or not. "So, what do you think about this?" He vaguely pointed to any spot on the page and looked at Ben. The boy scratched at a few freckles adorning his neck and he shrugged, sniffing. "Really, how _very_ interesting," the sarcasm dripped off of Draco's tongue like a dead opossum(8) as he flipped through the pages.

"Is there a reason you aren't reading the text, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Harris asked, stopping once more at their desk.

"I think I need a change in partner, this guy can't seem to get his words straight," Draco said. A few Slytherins snickered but the professor didn't look amused.

"Sonier, switch partners with Mr. Fenwick," she said before going back to her desk.

Wait--partners with that kid from the _closet_?

Well, even if there would be a lack of intelligent conversation, at least he could talk.

"So, we meet again, you ugly bastard, you," Draco smirked as Russell situated himself in the seat next to him. Russell's pursed lips shifted in an awkward motion as he began to flip through the book to find the pages on Veritaserum.

"Could you…" he began, but cut himself off abruptly.

"Could I what? Continue, oh ruthless one," Draco said, slightly amused at Russell's feeble attempts.

"…try to…be a little nicer…I mean, we _are_ partners…" Russell's fingers toyed with an aged corner of the book.

* * *

The blonde Slytherin next to him burst out into insane laughter. After being shushed by the professor, he let out another small laugh before shaking his head. 

"How about you try being a little smarter, richer, and better looking? Then we've got a deal."

Russell's crimson red face stared hard back at the DADA book. He slouched even more in his seat than he had before.

_'Partnered on a long-term project with Draco Malfoy? Oh reality, how I loathe you so.'_

* * *

_**Author's Notes:** Bwahahaha...Okay, yeah._

**_Schnebz:_** _Yes! Another story! And more reviews from one of my favvie reviewers! I hope you like my new story!_

**_Just in case you missed it..._**

_(1)**Donaghan Tremlett **is the bass player for the Weird Sisters.  
(2)You should know who he is, but did I spell **Flinch-Fletchey** right?  
(3)I made this up. But wouldn't a **magical alarm** be totally awesome? By the way, footnotes are sweet.  
(4)The last name** Fenwick** is from Benjy Fenwick who used to work for the Order of the Phoenix but died and only bits of him were found.  
(5)He's very emo isn't he?  
(6)Of course, for those who have read "When It Rains", how could I not put **Kiora** into this, even if she does play a small role?  
(7)Did you honestly think I'd pair them together? Oh, look, I accidentally did! Teehee, silly me.  
(8)I don't know why the crap I made this analogy, but isn't it cool?_


	3. You act like your pain really hurts

_**Title:** There's a Place For Me_

**_Rating: M for Miraculous!_**

**_Summary:_** _When a Slytherin meets a Hufflepuff, things aren't going to come out exactly as planned. Cunning and sinister, Draco Malfoy would do anything for power, which includes serving under the Dark Lord. Jovial and shy, Russell Sonier never asked for this…_

_**Warnings:** This story is of the slash kind. DMOC, that is!_

_**Genre:** Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor_

**_Disclaimer_**: _Luke, I do NOT own these trademarked names, place, things, and spells. Oh yeah, and uh, supposedly I'm your father._

**_Author's_** **_Notes_**: _This chapter is a little bit deeper than the last two. I felt the need to express Russell more in all his mopeyness._

**_"They say that children now  
They come in all ages  
And maybe sometimes old men die  
With little boy faces  
The only difference  
That I see  
Is you are exactly the same  
As you used to be." --The Difference by the Wallflowers_**

* * *

**_Chapter Three: "You act like your pain really hurts."_**

Russell sat in a deserted corner of the library, his eyes seeming to be engrossed in ancient text, wrapped with a dark blue cover. In reality, he couldn't read it. His vision was blurring and swimming around. Sooner or later, it would come back into focus. His nose still pulsed a bit and it stung to move his mouth around too much, but he was fine.

He had been walking back from his last class, History of Magic, when he encountered a rowdy looking Slytherin, about a year younger than he was. A violent hex had forced him back into the wall. He even heard (and most importantly, _felt_) a crack as his jaw connected with the cold, gray stone. Then the kid had laughed and kicked him before running off.

Usually he would've just sat there until a professor or somebody came by and helped him, but he didn't feel like being interrogated. He simply got up, sucked it in, and walked to the library with his head down. Madame Pince(1) didn't question him when he walked in. She rarely ever did since he was in here during almost all of his free time.

There was just something about the books that always made him feel…_good_ about everything. The way the pages felt on his fingertips, the old, warm smell when he flipped through the pictures, the enchanting words placed so neatly and carefully next to each other to create a whole…it was a beautiful serendipity and it took him places. Books took him to another world when his own got to be just too much. They were his freedom. And he loved that.

His fascination with reading started young. His mother had taught him to read at a very early age, yet she would always sit down with him and read aloud until the very wee hours of the night. Of course, he was usually asleep by nine or ten o'clock, but she read on because she loved it and believed that it gave him soothing dreams. Occasionally, she would even let him read to her. He had so much fun when he was with his mother that days upon days would just seem to swiftly pass by. After she died when he was eight, he swore to himself that he wouldn't forget her. So he continued reading, almost losing himself in the books and his own imagination…

Of course that's when his father stepped in. His father somehow got this idea that it was all Russell's fault and that if Russell hadn't been around and taken up so much of his mother's energy and time, that she would still be there. Russell got this instilled in his head with physical and verbal abuse whenever he was at home. It happened so regularly, he could do nothing except to believe it himself. That's when he had started painting and sketching. Making things like that gave him the feeling of giving something back…when he owed so much. Now at school, books had become an escape from the hassles of the other students and all the pressure.

Maybe this signified him as a book nerd, but he didn't really care, and he didn't expect that anyone else really did either……

"Mr. Sonier?" came Madame Pince's voice. The stern looking woman held a lantern up to get a better view of him and it was only then that Russell noticed how dark it had become in the library. Had he fallen asleep? He must've because he had to pick his head up from off of the book. "I didn't realize you were still back here, I'm closing up the library now, it's really late. Why don't you go and head back to yourdormitory now?"

Blearily rubbing his eyes, Russell nodded before carefully closing the book and slipping it back onto the shelf.

"Goodnight ma'am," he said before stepping out of his one and only haven.

As he walked out, Madame Pince waved her wand, straightening up all the untidy books that were laid here and there. "Always so polite," she murmured before exiting the library herself.

* * *

Draco slumped along outside, his hands in the pockets of his black pants. The night air was cool and refreshing against his bare arms and face, inviting him further along with a slow breeze, rustling the lake shore. He sat down, rolling up the hems of his pants so he could stick his feet into the Autumn water. It was the point in the season where things were getting a little chilly, but weren't cold enough for distaste. 

Insomnia wasn't such a lovely thing, but it gave him time to mull over a few things. His father had sent him an owl a while back, signaling that it was time for him to move into the plan of luring Potter into Voldemort's hands, but Draco had yet to figure out a way to do it. There were plenty of options, but each one was riskier than the last.

Draco wouldn't hesitate to risk himself for the Dark Lord, especially if it meant the life of that damn Potter, but he couldn't risk the hiding spots or secrets of Lord Voldemort either, so he had to be sneaky. It would have been so much simpler if he had Potions with the Gryffindors instead of those bloody Hufflepuffs, then he would be able to use the Veritaserum on Weasley or that mud blood(2) and get something out of them to use against Potter. But unfortunately, he got a lanky, ostrich-eyed, cretin of a Hogwarts student. Life wasn't fair, but he'd make it work. He was smart enough to figure something out.

Adrian had been helping him brew the other Veritaserum in a deserted bathroom and it was almost finished. He would just need to encounter one of the two Potter tagalongs alone, without being suspicious, and then slip them the truth-telling potion somehow…

Oh, this sounded almost _too_ hopeless! But no, Draco would find a way, somehow. He might go to Nott for advice, Theodore was the only Slytherin Draco considered to be an equal to himself. The boy was certainly clever and cunning. But asking for advice was weak.

And Draco Malfoy wasn't weak.

* * *

Russell rolled over under the covers, trying to fall asleep. In only a few hours, his magical alarm would go off and wake him up to begin his Saturday. Ernie, Justin, and Ben had gotten him to put a silencing charm around his four-poster, so that they wouldn't have to wake up early. But waking up early didn't bother Russell. It gave him a fresh start. 

If he could ever get to sleep, that is. He tossed and turned and tried different sleeping arrangements. He even tried counting dragons, but that didn't help because his imagination would always make one wearing a tutu or something.

And then he got on Philip Speer(3), the only friend that he had ever had. They were best friends when Russell was eight, right after his mother died. They spent a lot of time together, just having fun. But it had all ended right after Russell's tenth birthday, leading into Summer, when he would get his Hogwarts letter…but he hadn't known all that then.

_"Russ, why are you always so gloomy? Why don't you turn that frown upside-down?" Philip giggled in a very girlish manner, taking his thumbs and pushing up Russell's cheeks._

_"I just don't feel good, Phil. You wouldn't understand," Russell dimly waved away Philip's hand. His father had just been yelling at him when he went outside and met up with Philip. The other boy sure wasn't helping Russell's mood._

_"You know, I bet you I would. It's about your mum, isn't it? Or your dad," Philip's voice had calmed and he was now crouching down beside the sprawled-out, sky-gazing Russell. "I know how he yells at you, Russ. I heard him once. It's okay, it really is." Russell's eyes started to sting as he angrily continued glaring at the sky._

_"How can you even say you understand? You have two parents. And they both love and adore you with every fiber of their being. You can't say you understand."_

_"But I do. You see, I know they can seem really nice and all…but they're never around. They're always at work or out at dinner or conferences and the theater…I never get a chance to tell them how my day went or even…even that I love them," Philip's face grew downcast as he stretched his legs into a sitting position. Russell sat up, looking at Philip in bewilderment and anger._

_"Oh come of it, Philip! At least you know what they'd say if you _did_ tell them. At least you found someone who loves you back."_

_"No…Russ…sometimes, I'm not sure what they'd say. It's scary…and it makes me feel bad…but--"_

_"You act like your pain really hurts when I can't even feel mine," Russell said, tears splashing down his face. He roughly brushed them away as Philip stood up._

_"I don't know why I even _try_ to help you, Russ. You're so caught up in your own _stupid_ life that you don't even think of _other_ people. Maybe _you're_ not the only one with problems in the world, Russell," the ten year old said, fists clenched at his sides._

_"You don't know anything about me, you're just a stupid little…" Russell stood up, trying to find the words to say, but he just sputtered and shook his head furiously._

_"Your heart is dead, it's _dead_! You don't let anybody know you, Russ, you don't _want_ to. Either you or somebody else has killed _you_ and I don't think you really care either way!" Philip shouted, his own eyes now threatened to leak._

_"What are you talking about, Philip? My heart isn't dead, nobody killed me! I guess you really are _stupid_!"_

_"No, Russ," Philip shook his head and started walking away. "You'll get it someday, and you'll _really_ wish you'd thanked me."_

Russell turned over in the covers once more, stray tears dripping from his eyes. And finally, he got to sleep.

* * *

**_Author's Notes:_** _:( Poor Russell! At first I wasn't going to make it like this, I didn't even have Philip in my head. But then, I don't know, the idea just struck me and I stuck with it. I hope you understand Russell's actions a little more now, since they're a bit more justified than they were before._

**_Kayhera:_** _Yes! I love reviews from you! Hah! Now you know more about my OC…but not everything just yet. Nope, there's more to Russ than meets the eye (two big ostrich eyes, to be exact). I think that if I'm going to make Draco as canon as possible, Russell wouldn't really matter to him and subtly/annoyance was all that would exist between them, at first. And it's okay that you don't usually read slash! (Heck, I don't usually read Inuyasha fics :P). This fic isn't just going to be the lovey-dovey mushyness that my other fic was. Nah…I thought maybe a little adventure would spice things up a bit. I hope you like it, I'm really counting on your approval since you are one of my other favorite reviewers! Oh and I know how you feel about Wolf's Rain! I was reading the Manga books of Fruits Basket and I've gotten up to number 6, but my mom says that I'm reading too much so she won't buy me another one yet! Agh! It's making me crazy! And long reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside--only not really--so keep up the long reviews!_

**_Just in case you missed it…_**

_(1)**Madame Pince** is the resident librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_(2)**Mudblood** is a nickname some wizards use to describe muggle-borns. Draco uses this for Hermione Granger because she is a muggle-born witch. He usually just calls Ron, "Weasley"._

_(3)I know a guy from Germany with the last name of **Speer**. Thought it was cool so I casually dropped it in._


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